Kaiser Settles Lawsuit With Consumer Group;

Kaiser
Permanente, the state's largest HMO, agreed Thursday to make a
host of internal changes -- including increased consumer disclosure of
its policies -- to settle a lawsuit filed nearly four years ago by
consumer advocates.

Kaiser said it would publish on its Web site the
detailed medical
guidelines its doctors use to treat a host of ailments, as well as
information on how it pays physicians. The medical guidelines could be
used by consumers to gauge whether their individual doctors are
following proper procedures, or as a basis for requesting second
opinions.

As part of the settlement to the
false-advertising and fraud
lawsuit, Kaiser also agreed to step up physician recruitment and to
encourage members to select personal physicians rather than seeing a
different doctor on each visit.

The health maintenance organization pledged not
to offer financial
incentives to clerks for limiting or denying access to medical care.

The Times reported last year that Kaiser awarded
financial bonuses
in 2000 and 2001 to clerks in Northern California who spent the least
amount of time on the phone with patients and limited the number of
doctors' appointments.

The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights
filed suit on
behalf of several patients saying that Kaiser used misleading
advertising to recruit new members. The suit also alleged that Kaiser
implemented policies, based on financial concerns, that interfered with
the medical judgment of its doctors.

Neither party would discuss specific terms of the
settlement, such
as how many new doctors would be hired, what precise information would
be disclosed or when it would be made public.